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Are you familiar with the challenge of developing a high-quality product without unlimited resources? Most manufacturers routinely juggle speed, cost, and material quality challenges in product development, as they are pressured to deliver products to market faster while meeting customer expectations and industry standards.
A crucial component of product development is frequent and rigorous material testing. However, most in-house laboratories aren’t equipped to go beyond routine testing. They often lack the expertise, equipment, and personnel to realize a product’s potential. As a result, you lack the ability to take your product to the next level.
That’s where an outsourced product development laboratory can help. External labs can give you access to fast, accurate results, and also support material testing, help develop new protocols, and give insights into alternative materials. In this article, we further explore why an outsourced product development laboratory is invaluable to your team.
Modern Scientific Consultancy vs. Traditional Laboratory
Traditional laboratory testing companies can perform standardized tests vital to product development, ensuring that your materials meet regulatory compliance measures. However, they aren’t equipped to handle common challenges during development. These may include product failure, environmental hazards, or the need for better material selection.
A scientific consultancy draws on multi-disciplinary expertise to help you navigate these obstacles. As your all-in-one partner, they provide comprehensive support throughout product development. They’ll work with you to develop new material testing protocols and provide you with the equipment and testing capabilities to overcome any challenges.
Material Testing Challenges Product Development Laboratories Can Help With
One of the biggest challenges during product development is selecting the best materials for your product. An in-house laboratory or most outsourced laboratories can test materials to ensure they meet current best practices. However, a scientific consultancy will go beyond that to offer expert insights and test raw and finished materials for specific uses.
For example, you may need to make a weather-resistant, outdoor-friendly, fire- or heat-resistant, corrosion-resistant, or durable product. All of these demands require specific material selection and testing to ensure the integrity of your product. You may also need help testing a new product coating due to material sourcing concerns or health concerns.
Even if you aren’t considering expanding your product capabilities, materials composition, and performance analysis are still important during product development. Verifying that your selected materials perform well for the specific product design can prevent potential failure.
And if you are experiencing product failures, a consulting lab can assist with root-cause failure analysis, non-destructive and destructive testing to uncover the reasons and help you develop a plan for corrective action.
Gain Expert Insight Into Materials Alternatives
Outsourced product development laboratories help you manage the challenge of working with new materials you don’t have the equipment, time, or personnel to handle. Manufacturers are increasingly working with new materials due to the demand for alternative sourcing. Supply chain diversification has driven a need for materials alternatives in the past few years.
Shipping delays, rising prices on materials, and geopolitical tensions have made it necessary for manufacturers to source materials from more than one place. This shift has also driven the need for additional material testing.
When sourcing alternative materials, it’s important to know your priorities for the product’s development as a whole. Are you focused on cost-effectiveness, material quality, or getting your product to market quickly? Knowing which is most important to you in the product development process can guide alternative sourcing choices.
As you consider what to prioritize, remember that too much focus on expedience or cost-effectiveness may increase the chances of product failure. If time isn’t made for thorough testing, it’s harder to mitigate product failure during development. Similarly, a product could wear out prematurely if material quality is sacrificed for cost.
Ultimately, your product development priorities will guide your work with a high-level outsourced product development laboratory.
Experience the Support of Our Product Development Laboratory & Scientists
When you partner with RJ Lee Group, a scientific consulting firm with decades of expertise, you access cutting-edge equipment, scientific experts, and a full staff ready to help you. Take your product development to a new level with material testing and analysis support, testing protocol development, and guidance for alternative sourcing.
Learn more about how RJ Lee Group can help your product development testing process today.
